Roku is a welcome dose of dumb to a product that often tries to get too clever.

Further Reading

The Roku TVs announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January will finally make their way into stores in the next few weeks, according to releases from TCL and Hisense Monday. The TVs range in size from 32 to 55 inches and are close in price to their dumb-TV counterparts with an operating system that's meant to be an antidote to the average TV interface.

The Roku setup of content "channels" like Netflix, YouTube, and Rdio, as well as the customizable home screen, remain largely unchanged in the new sets. Since the TVs have to handle other inputs, the interface also treats other connected devices (a cable set-top box or a console, for instance) as selectable "channels" on the home screen. If the connected devices are powered on, the TV can show a live preview of what is currently playing within the selected channel box.

The Roku TVs will be packaged with a Roku-style remote, which eliminates most of the interface-tweaking buttons found on a standard TV remote. Instead, there are directional buttons that handle menus, which are curated so that the most commonly tweaked settings get the best placement, according to Roku's research. If users dig deeper, they can find the more granular display settings and other features that TV remotes usually let viewers access with a button press.

As for standalone Roku devices, users can also turn a smartphone into a remote for the Roku TV using the Android, iOS, or Windows app. The Roku TV cannot connect to keyboards or other Bluetooth devices, but they can be programmed to use with universal remotes. As promised back in January, Roku will handle all the software updates to the TVs without going through the manufacturers. Because of this, the TVs do not power off by default; instead, they go into a sleep mode such that they can receive and install software updates without user interaction. Like the other Roku products, the venture is supported in part by ads on the home screen for certain apps.

The TCL Roku TVs will be released in 32-, 40-, 48-, and 55-inch sizes ranging in price from $229 to $649. Hisense's Roku TVs will come in 40-, 48-, 50-, and 55-inch sizes with no suggested MSRP; instead, Hisense is encouraging retailers to price the sets how they like. All of the TVs come with three HDMI ports and built-in 802.11 g/n Wi-Fi, and the TCL sets also have digital audio and USB inputs. All models have a 120Hz refresh rate except the 40- and 48-inch ones from Hisense, which refresh at 60Hz.

The Hisense models will be sold at "major retailers" starting in late September, while the TCL models will open for pre-order on Amazon starting Tuesday and be available at more retailers "in the coming weeks."

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Casey Johnston
Casey Johnston is the former Culture Editor at Ars Technica, and now does the occasional freelance story. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Applied Physics. Twitter@caseyjohnston